I was thinking about the post by Freddie, linked below, and about Child Abuse.I have to admit, in hindsight\/retrospect, my parents seriously abused my kid sister.<\/p>\n
Instead of insisting she go to specific schools, they let her go to the schools she chose. When she graduated high school, she went to school to be a hairdresser, for which mom and dad paid. She drove mom’s car, or sometimes dad’s truck. Prom dresses, school supplies, gas, all pretty much covered. When she got married, dad took out his wallet and spent till it hurt. <\/p>\n
On the other hand, I went to the seminary for six years. At times- OK, most of the time, I felt really stupid, because I was nearly a year behind everyone else. It sucked. But I stayed, rather than going to the local public school, where I could breeze through with honors because even in the 70’s the difference between parochial school and public school was HUGE. One kid left my class, the only kid dumber than me, and was valedictorian at the local public school. I helped pay for my high school by being a camp counselor in summertime. I also stayed in the seminary because that halved my tuition. <\/p>\n
When I graduated, I bought my first car with graduation cash- a 1967 Plymouth Valiant. I paid for it and my insurance, working in the lumberyard. It had an AM radio. That was it’s option. I scraped cash together for my first year of engineering school, and managed to buy a beer or two during that first semester. I never had much in the way of cash, because between books and gas and supplies I was nearly always broke. Oh, let’s not forget car maintenance, hammering my $72 Plymouth Valienat back together over and over again to make it “just one more week, please!!” Bald assed tires and thin brake linings, I remember thinking “I can get about fifty more miles on the cord on these tires” Women? What were they?<\/p>\n